Echo Squadron is comprised of two diving units of dedicated and motivated clearance divers who deploy globally armed with world-class expeditionary diving and explosive ordnance disposal (EOD) capabilities to defeat and exploit complex conventional and improvised threats.
Echo Squadron is a globally deployable clearance diving squadron held at very-high readiness for expeditionary mine-countermeasures (Ex-MCM), maritime EOD and threat exploitation in support of UK MCM Force, the Commando Force and Defence Exploitation.
Echo Squadron teams safely identify and neutralise underwater threats, both conventional and improvised, exploiting them where necessary in order to gain operational advantage. They deploy worldwide in a matter of hours, employing specialist skills that include:
Led by Lt Cdr Pete Needle RN, Echo Squadron numbers 57 in total, broken down into Echo Diving Units 1 and 2 (EDU1 and EDU2). Each is trained in specific skillsets in addition to the core Echo capabilities, is 28 people strong (led by an Officer-in-Charge (OiC)) and includes its own organic engineering team.
Assisted by small teams of enablers such as medical, logistics, communications, and mine warfare specialists – who operate our autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs) –, Echo Squadron is ready to deploy at any time on any day of the year, either independently or as part of a Royal Navy Task Group, to operate on, under or near the sea anywhere in the world.
Ready to go places? A career in the Surface Fleet could take you all over the world - on missions as varied as the oceans we defend.